Odyssey
by Arrathir
Summary: My ZeldaMetroid crossover. Samus' ship is caught in a gavity field that sends her to Hyrule. UPDATED! UPDATED! CHAPTER 5! I fixed up capter 5 so it's easier to read now. R&R!
1. Samus

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Nintendo.  
  
This is my attempt at writing a Zelda/Metroid crossover. This chapter is Metroid only, but I'll the Zelda portion will be in the next chapter  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
SAMUS  
  
Something was wrong.  
  
Samus knew it.  
  
The ship was cruising along, but she had an odd feeling. She initiated the self-check system but all the ship's systems were in working order. Still, she couldn't shake the   
  
sensation that something was wrong. She got out of her pilot's chair and stared out through the window at the stars beyond. How long had it been since she first met the Metroids?   
  
How much blood has she spilled in her combats?   
  
She sighed. The life of a bounty hunter was not always fun and games (except when she collected her bounty). Samus was rich. The governments   
  
had been most pleased at her work in the Metroid crisis. they had rewarded her beyond her wildest dreams. But they had kept a lid on what had happened. Samus has not noticed the   
  
fine print on the contract stating that should she destroy the alien treat, all records of her actions would be restricted and she was under oath to never tell a soul. Should she fail to   
  
comply, she would be declared an outlaw, and the bounty placed on her head would be so large that it would send all bounty hunters from the galaxy after her.  
  
She checked the panel again: there was nothing unusual going on. She noticed her radar showed several ships approaching from hyperspace. They were on an intercept   
  
vector.  
  
  
  
"Raise shields" Samus commanded. She was not expecting the ships to attack, but better to be safe.  
  
  
  
The first ship dropped out of hyperspace. Samus' blood froze. It was a Space Pirate ship.  
  
"Red alert! All weapons on line!" Samus ordered. She sat down and watched the rest of the ships drop out of hyperspace. They were in attack formation.  
  
  
  
"How did they know I was here?" Samus wondered.   
  
The ships were powering up shield and weapons. Samus noted that most of the ships were of a new kind she had never seen before. She scanned the ships and saw that most   
  
of theme were equipped with rippers, illegal devices that allowed ships to access another ship's systems and gave them total control over them. This was not good. Fortunately, Samus   
  
had been in battles with ripper-equipped ships before and her ship had a ripper scrambler on it. The catch was, she could only scramble one ripper at a time. Rippers took a while to   
  
power up, and they took up most of the ship's energy seeing as hacking into the opposing ship's system took tremendous amounts of energy. Shields would be at the lowest setting   
  
and weapons would be off-line. Once a ship was using a ripper, it was basically a sitting duck.  
  
  
  
"And that's why they are sending a small fleet", concluded Samus.  
  
  
  
She counted ten ships, but she knew that Space Pirates had cloaking devices that rendered ships invisible to radar. The ships were only three clicks away, close enough   
  
for Samus to target them with a missile.  
  
"Computer, target nearest ship" Samus ordered.  
  
"Space Pirate fighter, 2.89 clicks, targeted" the computer replied.  
  
"Arm concussion missiles" said Samus.  
  
She heard the humming of the missile bay as a missile was readied for launch.  
  
The targeted ship was now two clicks away. Samus could see the pilot.  
  
Suddenly, an alarm blared: "WARNING! WARNING! SYSTEM BEING CORRUPTED! WARNING! WARNING!"  
  
Samus quickly scanned the attacking ships; the targeted fighter was using its ripper on her ship.  
  
"WARNING! WARNING!", the alarm blared "SHIELD SYSTEM CORRPTED. SHIELD FAILURE IMMINENT!"  
  
The fighter had seized control of the ship's shield system. Samus watched as the shield indicators, which were bright green, started to become red as the shields lowered.  
  
"Not today, buddy" said Samus as she initiated the ripper scrambler. Immediately, the shield powered back up. Samus could almost guess the look on the space pirate's face   
  
as he realized he had lost control of the shields and that his ship was powerless.  
  
"Fire missile!" Samus snapped.  
  
The missile streaked from the bay and made a beeline for the pirate's ship. The pirate desperately tried to evade it, but as he was making a u-turn, the missile cut him off   
  
and detonated itself, blowing the cockpit open and sucking the pirate into space.  
  
"One down" muttered Samus.  
  
Now, the pirates had seen that ripperes were useless, they were closing in on Samus' ship for an up-close attack. Samus flinched as laser fire started hitting her shields. She   
  
targeted the nearest ship and locked on to its engines.  
  
Space pirate ships have on major flaw: Their lack of rear shielding. The shields on their ship are very powerful on all sides but the back. Samus knew this and she set her ship   
  
on a chase pattern, keeping behind the space pirate, trying to get a good shot off at his engines. Meanwhile, the other ships were hot on her tail, peppering her ship's rear with laser fire. Fortunately, they did not have missiles and their accuracy was not so good.   
  
Samus finally got a shot at the fighter she was chasing and her shot connected with the engines of the ship, overheating them, and causing the ship to explode. She turned   
  
her ship around on the spot and fired a missile blindly into the ships pursuing her. The missile detonated amidst the ships, blowing two up and causing sever damage to three others,   
  
forcing them to retreat. Samus was now faced with three ships.  
  
Suddenly, a giant ship appeared next to her ship and attached to its hull. Samus realized that the ship had snuck up to her, cloaked, and now they were going to board her   
  
ship!   
  
"Computer, seal off the airlock, the docking bay, and the bridge!" Samus ordered.  
  
  
  
She watched on the monitor as the airlock was being cut through by diamond-tipped drills. She noticed that the three space pirates had fled.  
  
"So, it was all a diversion." Samus thought.   
  
Indeed, if she had not been so concentrated with the attacking ships, she may have picked up some kind of signature from the ship next to her. She ran to her Chozo suit   
  
and rapidly put it on. She checked the blaster and missiles, she was full. As she put her helmet on, she saw that the airlock was breached. Now, the boarding party was trying to cut   
  
through the blast doors that separated the airlock from the rest of the ship. One of the pirates looked up at the camera and shot it. The screen went blank.  
  
"Damn! I'll have to try and stop them the hard way" Samus thought   
  
She opened the blast doors sealing off the bridge and closed them behind her. She didn't want a space pirate to get into there! She walked through the hall leading to the   
  
airlock, gun ready. She reached the airlock and found the blast doors cut through.  
  
"Even with their drills, it would have taken them an hour to cut through these doors!" Samus exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, but with me, it took minutes!" said a voice from behind her, a voice she knew all too well.  
  
"So kind of you to join me, Ridley!" she said, spinning around and firing off a missile at the space pirate boss.  
  
But Ridley was no longer himself, he was not Meta Ridley she had faced either. Ridley now looked like a huge diamond. The missile exploded on him, leaving no mark.  
  
"Like it?" said Ridley "A diamond coating! Impenetrable! And check this out!"  
  
  
  
He slashed at the floor with his claws, leaving huge gaps.  
  
"Spare me the details, Ridley. What do you want?"  
  
"Why, you! The one who defeated me."  
  
  
  
"Dream on."  
  
  
  
"When I'm done with you, Samus Aran, you will be dreaming, forever!"  
  
Ridley charged at Samus, but she rolled aside, charging her gun. She back flipped as Ridley slashed at her and fired her shot into his open mouth. Ridley roared. He had   
  
external protection, but this did not extend to his inner body. Samus blocked a swipe with her gun and kicked Ridley in the gut. The pain was tremendous. Even through the suit she   
  
could feel it. Ridley took off from the ground and charged at Samus. She rolled under him and grabbed his tail, firing shot at his back. Ridley tried to reach Samus, but she was too far   
  
back. Samus climbed onto Ridley's back and stuck her gun in his mouth.  
  
"So now who's gonna dream forever Ridley?" she asked.  
  
Ridley grabbed Samus and threw her on the ground. The shot Samus fired before he grabbed her hit Samus in the leg. She estimated the damage: several servomotors were   
  
destroyed but she could still walk. She played dead and readied a missile. Ridley was cautious. He made several lunge at Samus but she did not move. Finally, Ridley flew over and was   
  
about to stomp on her when she turned over and fried her missile into his mouth. Ridley was blow back by the explosion.  
  
"You may have won this one, Samus, but you'll die now!"   
  
Ridley flew through the airlock and back into his ship. Samus ran after him, but the door shut in her face. She closed the emergency lock so she wouldn't be sucked into   
  
space. The battle had been too easy. She scanned the ship for any space pirates, the ship was empty. No bombs, no tracking device, this was so unlike Ridley. She rushed back to the   
  
bridge where alarms were going off. A quick check showed her that her ship had been ripped while she was fighting and all her systems were under control, even the ripper scrambler.  
  
"I'll get you for this, Ridley" she muttered.  
  
Her ship started moving and she saw that Ridley's ship was alongside hers. She realized she was at Ridley's mercy. If the self-destruct was initiated, she couldn't launch an   
  
escape pod, since those were also under control.   
  
"And what shall I do with you now?" Ridley said.  
  
Samus looked up. Ridley was on the monitor, gloating.  
  
"I need to conceive a slow and painful death for you. I know. There is a neutron star nearby. I'll just launch you ship into it."  
  
Samus felt the ship speeding up. Ahead was the star Ridley had talked about. Her ship sped towards it.  
  
  
  
"Good-bye, Samus Aran!" Ridley cackled.  
  
Samus desperately tried to override the ripped system but it was hopeless. The internal temperature of the ship increases as it neared the star. Suddenly, the gravitational   
  
field grabbed the shop and broke it from Ridley's control. Samus flew into the wall as gravity pulled the ship closer in.  
  
"If I could just get to the control panel, I could use the gravitational field to slingshot around the star and get out." Samus thought.  
  
Samus went into her spider ball morph and attached herself to the wall. She rolled towards the panel and unmorphed. She grabbed the seat and tied herself in with the crash   
  
webbing. The temperature was unbearable. Samus managed to redirect all power to the engines and shields. She steered the ship towards the edge of the star andfelt the ship speed up   
  
as the pull got stronger. She needed to move more, but gravity was too strong.  
  
"Computer, jettison all missiles" she ordered.  
  
The intense heat caused the missiles to blow up. The force of the explosion pushed the ship over, sending it flyign around the side of the star. The gravity was so strong,   
  
Samus passed out.  
  
When she woke up, every alarm was balring and every warning light was on. She looked up and saw she had entered the atmosphere of a planet. Her ship was on a collision   
  
course with a settelement. She fought to control her ship. She had to crash-land away from the settlement. Samus managed to steer the ship away from the settelment but as she   
  
looked ahead, she saw a large structure. There was no way she could avoid it.   
  
"No time to blow the ship. I'm too low" Samus thought.  
  
She raced to the airlock and went into ball morph. She rolled out the airlock as her ship crashed into the structure.  
  
To be continued...  
  
Author's note: I know that this is supposed to be a Zelda/Metroid crossover but I had to mention how Samus gets into Hyrule. 


	2. Link

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Nintendo.  
  
In this story, Zelda didn't send Link back in time at the end of OOT and he went to Termina as an adult. This chapter takes place about at the same time as the first so the events are   
  
synchronized.  
  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
LINK  
  
"There is danger. I can feel it in the trees. I can smell it in the air," Saria whispered to a bewildered and confused Link.  
  
Despite the fact that Link had no clue what she was talking about, he patiently listened to Saria as she told him of her vision she had encountered in the Forest Temple,   
  
knowing well that she would eventually reveal what she was dying to tell. The little Forest Sage was sitting cross-legged on the floor in Link's tree house, her short, green hair swayed   
  
slightly in the breeze from an open window. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of shocking blue. Eyes that held deep knowledge and wisdom. They also held...magic.  
  
The two were inside Link's tree house, which was carved into a large moss tree. The house consisted of one large room with furniture carved out from the actual  
  
tree. A leaf carpet sat in the middle, where Link and Saria sat crossed legged. Katl, Saria's guardian fairy, was sleeping soundly in Saria's tunic. Link's house was located inside a village   
  
known as Kokiri village. It was a small village located inside a lush green forest, with all the houses carved at the bases of thick trees. The odd thing about this village, however, was   
  
that it was inhabited by children. Children that never aged called Kokiri. Link, however, was not a Kokiri himself. All though he had grown up believing he was a Kokiri,  
  
he was in fact a Hylian. He wasn't even a child anymore, and was well in his twenties. He easily exceeded twice the height of each inhabitant in the lost woods.   
  
  
  
Even though Link knew he was not a Kokiri, the forest was still "home" to him. After the fall of Ganondorf, the King of Evil, he had returned to the  
  
forest despite Zelda's invitation to live in Hyrule Castle. It's not that Link disliked being Hylian, it was just that he was not yet used to the idea.  
  
Another thing about Link, however, was that was not even a normal Hylian. Chosen by destiny, he was to save Hyrule, the country that he lived in,  
  
From Ganondorf himself. With the help of six sages, and Zelda, the princess of Destiny, he banished Ganondorf to the dark realm.  
  
Link's mind wondered away from Saria's future predictions slightly as his eyes lingered on his The Master Sword which was hanging over his bed, sheathed. That  
  
blade had a tale on it's own, and was so legendary, Link felt honoured that the blade had picked him to wield it. His eyes travelled to the rest of his equipment which he had   
  
accumulated during both oh his adventures. Things like a bow and arrow, his hookshot, and bombs were all hung neatly above his bed.   
  
His eyes then lingered on the Fierce Deity Mask he had acquired during his battle with the spirit of the evil god, Majora. It was a brilliant shade of blue, with  
  
splashes of green strung over it. Empty, black eyes stared icily back at Link. A chill ran down his spine as he laid eyes on it. That mask had helped him defeat  
  
Majora, but at a terrible price. When he had put the mask on, he had been filled with a surge of power. Evil power. All he had wanted to do was kill. Kill just  
  
to see blood trickle down his sword, just to see the victim fall to the floor lifelessly like a rag doll. Kill just for fun. After Majora's defeat, it had taken him all of his energy to overcome   
  
the power of the mask, and when he did finally take off the mask, it sucked him of all his power and life force. He would have died if Tatl, a fairy who had helped him in his adventures   
  
in Termina, hadn't given up her life to heal him.  
  
The fierce Deity mask was his only connection to Tatl, so he kept it as a  
  
memory, and not a tool. His other masks were his three transformation masks: The deku mask he'd gotten after playing the Song of Healing when Majora (who was using the body of a   
  
skull kid as residence) turned him into a baby deku scrub, the Goron mask which allowed him to turn into the Goron Warrior, Darmani, and the Zora mask with which contained the   
  
spirit of the now dead Zora guitarist for the Indi-Go-Gos, Miaku. Link still used some of these masks in his battles. He chuckled as he remembered the first time he'd gone to see   
  
Ruto, the snotty Zora princess who was desperately in love with Link even though they were two different species, in his Zora form. The Zora princess had literally jumped on  
  
him.  
  
  
  
"Hey! Link! Are you paying attention?" Saria snapped irritably, jolting Link's wondering eyes to her.  
  
"Sorry Saria, could you maybe start over? You've lost me."  
  
Saria sighed.  
  
"OK, here goes: I was playing my ocarina in the Forest Temple, when suddenly, I felt a great disturbance in the aura surrounding Hyrule. It was as if Death Mountain had burst   
  
open. The shock knocked me over. I saw, as in a dream, a flaming mass, descending from the sky. At first, I thought it was Din, because it was a huge fireball. Then I saw it was a   
  
massive burning metal object. I have never seen anything like this before. It was heading toward the town, and then, it changed its course and crashed into the castle. Right before   
  
impact, a metal ball fell out of the object. I passed out and when I woke up, I was so shaken that I came to tell you."  
  
"Did you see if anyone was hurt?"  
  
"Zelda was killed."  
  
"WHAT?" yelled Link.   
  
He jumped up, pulse racing.   
  
"She can't be!"   
  
"It is inevitable, Link. She will die."  
  
Link grabbed Saria and shook her.  
  
"Quick, Saria! When will this happen? I can save her!"  
  
"It is too late, it has started. She will suffer great pains." Saria was in a trance.  
  
"Saria!"   
  
Link shook her. Saria's eyes closed, then fluttered open.  
  
"Link, there is a slim chance that you can save her."  
  
Link raced to the door.  
  
"Wait!" Sari yelled at Link, who had already sprinted out of his tree house, and bounded down the ladder. "If you have to go, you'll need someone to help you!"  
  
"Who?" Link asked hastily, landing lightly on the ground, and preparing Epona with great haste.  
  
Before Saria could answer, something stopped his hasty preparations. It was a ball of pink light heading speedily towards him. The ball started bashing against his face,   
  
squealing in a high-pitched voice, a voice Link knew, he knew it very well.  
  
"Link! Link!" said the fairy "I've missed you so much! I can't believe it!"  
  
Link was stunned.  
  
This fairy...His fairy...The one he'd shared so many toils with. They'd saved each other's lives more times than he could remember.  
  
"NAVI!" Link yelled and he grabbed the fairy and held her to his eye level.  
  
It was Navi. She smiled at Link and fluttered around his head. Link was in shock. He had not seen Navi since the day that they had defeated Gannon. Navi was the cause of   
  
Link's quest and subsequent adventures in Termina. He had developed a strong bond with Tatl, but nothing compared to his friendship with Navi. He remembered when he was young,   
  
before he became the Hero of Time, when he was "The kid without a fairy". He remembered Mido's taunts, his tricks, him taking every opportunity to remind Link that he was different.   
  
Then there was the day. The day he was woken from a nightmare by Navi. Then there was the death of the Great Deku Tree, his meeting with Zelda, and his battle against Ganondorf.   
  
All these memories came flooding back to Link.  
  
"What happened Navi? Why did you leave me? Where have you been?" Link asked Navi.  
  
"One question at a time Link" said Navi "I left you because I needed to restore my magic. When Ganondorf caught me in his magic vortex, I was weakened. It was all I could   
  
do to help you finish him off. After that, I needed to return to the woods or I would die. There was no time to explain."  
  
"Well couldn't you have sent me a message?"   
  
Link was annoyed. He was delighted to have Navi back, but if he'd known, he wouldn't have left for Termina.   
  
"Navi, do you know that I went out looking for you and I ended up in Termina and I had to save the world from an evil god who wanted to bring the moon down to kill   
  
everybody? Do you have any idea what I have gone through since you were gone? How much I've wondered if I would ever see you again. How much I have worried about you? I love you   
  
Navi! Don't I mean anything to you?"  
  
"Link, please" Navi said   
  
Link saw that tears were falling from her eyes.  
  
"Link, I couldn't. I was so weak, I couldn't do anything. I had no sense of being. My mind was shut down. Believe me, if I could, I would have seen you as soon as possible.   
  
Link, I love you to, but fairies without magic take a long time to heal. It is painful Link. I could have chosen to die instead, but I wanted to see you again. I suffered for you. So you see,   
  
we both went through a lot to see each other again."  
  
"Oh, Navi" said Link "I am sorry. I-I was just so overcome, I didn't think. Can you forgive me?"  
  
"Of course I can Link. Now, are we going to save Zelda, again?"  
  
Link checked his equipment: Longshot, bombs, bow, and arrows. he was ready. He also took his Goron mask along. For sheer brute force, nothing could match the power of   
  
a Goron. Link jumped on Epona, waved good-bye to Saria, shoved Navi under his hat, and took off through the woods. He edged Epona on. He knew he had little time. If he could get   
  
to the castle before the disaster, maybe he could warn the people and they could evacuate. While they were riding, me managed to give Navi a quick synopsis of his adventures in   
  
Termina. Navi was a little jealous that he had gotten another fairy, but she was glad that he had not had to face the horrors of Termina alone. Navi remembered when Link had first   
  
entered the Great Deku Tree; He had freaked out at the sight of the skulletas. It had taken many weeks before he had gotten more confident about his fighting abilities and had   
  
stopped running away whenever he saw a monster.  
  
Link looked up at the sky. There was no sign of the ball of fire Saria had told of. Link rode on. He passed Lon-Lon Ranch and saw Malon loading milk jugs onto the cart. She   
  
waved, but Link didn't have time to say hello, every second counted! Link looked up for the second time, and this time, he saw it: a orange dot in the sky, growing bigger by the   
  
second. He urged Epona on. He had to warn Zelda!  
  
Link shot across the drawbridge that led to the marketplace. He was out of luck. It was market day, and the streets were crowded. Nobody had seemed to notice the   
  
approaching ball of fire. Link shouted at the people to clear the way, but the crowd covered his voice. Link hopped off Epona and ran through the crowd, cursing as he went. He   
  
finally got out of the mass of people and up the path leading to the castle. But it was too late. Already he saw the ball of fire, streaking towards the castle. Link watched in horror as the   
  
object hit the castle on the south face. There was a tremendous explosion. Link screamed in despair and ran towards the castle. As he ran, he remembered something: the throne room   
  
was on the east side of the castle, maybe Zelda was still alive.  
  
Link arrived at the castle and his heart sank when he saw the mess. Dead guards and peasants, rubble everywhere. How was he going to get in? The main entrance was   
  
blocked by debris. As Link pondered, he noticed something approaching. He spun to meet it. It was a human figure, clad in a red metal armour. It looked a little like an Iron Knuckle.   
  
Where it's right hand would be, there was a large metal cylinder with a hone in the middle. It looked at Link, and spoke:  
  
"Where am I? Is this a feudal world? What galaxy is this? Hey, I'm talking to you boy!"  
  
Link felt a surge of rage. Nobody called him "boy", nobody.  
  
"Who are you and what is your business in Hyrule?" Link asked the figure.  
  
"Hyrule? There is no such entry in my data banks. Is this an unregistered planet? If so, I am putting you under arrest for violation of Intergalactic Law. If my ship were in order   
  
I'd..."  
  
"Wait, your ship?" said Link "That thing that crashed into the castle is yours?"  
  
"Well, yes, I was too low to detonate the ship, and I could not crash it into the settlement."  
  
This thing must be one of Ganondorf's creations. It looked like one, and it had attacked the Royal Palace. Link blood was boiling. He unsheathed the Master Sword.  
  
"Prepare to die, unholy creature!" he yelled and charged at it.   
  
Link struck the creature at the midriff, but his sword clanged off the metal armour. The creature raised its right arm and a sphere of fire came out of it. Link sidestepped it   
  
and circled closely around the creature, Navi buzzing around it, trying to find a weak spot. Since his sword was useless, Link grabbed his bow and an arrow. He blesses the arrow and   
  
knocked it on the bowstring. The tip of the arrow glowed a bight yellow. He fired off his light arrow at the thing and was satisfied to se it hit its mark and penetrate the armour. The   
  
creature screamed in pain and charged at Link. Link drew his sword and started to parry the blows the creature was trying to land on him. He was about to fire another light arrow when   
  
the creature fired a bright blue beam of light from its right arm. The beam streaked towards Link, and wrapped itself around him, pinning his arms. Link struggled to free himself, but   
  
it was impossible.  
  
"Now," said the creature "If you'll listen to me, I can explain."  
  
"Let him go!" yelled Navi   
  
The fairy bashed against the creature's head, with little impact.  
  
"I'm not going to hurt him," it said "I just want to explain what happened."  
  
  
  
"My name," it said, "is Samus Aran. I am a bounty hunter. Many years ago, I was hired by the Space Federation to stop a parasitic alien species called Metroids. Space pirates   
  
had seized a Metroid and were breeding them to unleash them onto the galactic civilization. I infiltrated the pirate's headquarters on planet Zebes, and successfully destroyed the   
  
Mother Brain. After the defeat of the Mother Brain, I hunted down the Metroids to their home world on the planet SR388 to destroy their queen and eradicate the species for good.   
  
Unfortunately, I overlooked a single Metroid egg. When it hatched, I was unable to kill it. It followed me as though I was its mother. I brought it back with me, and it was discovered   
  
that the Metroid could be harnesses to provide energy. The facility where the Metroid was kept was attacked by space pirates who stole the larva are returned with it to Zebes. I   
  
followed them to finish them off and save the hatchling. In my final battle with Mother Brain, the hatchling saved me, giving up its life in the process. I succeeded in defeating Mother   
  
Brain, but the universe lost the promise of using Metroid for the power of good. I was travelling to Nimdar when I was attacked by space pirates. I battled with their leader, Ripley, who   
  
seized control of my ship and sent it towards a star. I managed to avoid being toasted, but the gravitational field must have thrown me off course and damaged my ship."  
  
"So, you're not from Hyrule?" asked Link.  
  
"No. I have never heard of Hyrule"   
  
"Is that armour your body" asked Link.  
  
"Partially" said Samus "I am a cyborg. Half machine-Half human."  
  
"Well, Samus, if you could let me go, I need to save Zelda."  
  
"Who is Zelda? And why should I release you?" asked Samus "How do I know that you won't attack me again?"  
  
"I am sorry I attacked you. I thought you were one of Ganondorf minions."  
  
"Who is Ganondorf?"  
  
"Look, Samus, let me go, and I'll explain everything, as soon as I save Zelda."  
  
Samus paused. Could she trust this boy. He seemed honest, and apparently, there was a life in danger.  
  
"Alright," said Samus, "I'll let you go, and I'll help you rescue this "Zelda". "  
  
Samus withdrew her grapple beam and Link collapsed on the ground. Samus helped him get up.  
  
"Thanks. My name is Link, by the way."  
  
"Alright Link, let's go."  
  
They sped towards the castle. Link couldn't help noticing that Samus was moving at a great speed. He guessed it must have to do with her armour. When they go to the   
  
entrance, Link got out several bombs and was about to light them, when Samus stopped him.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"I'm going to blow all these rocks out of the way." Link replied.  
  
"No! You'll probably cause more damage than good. The structure was weakened by the impact. It won't survive another one."  
  
"So what do we do?"  
  
Samus strode up to the debris pile that was blocking the entrance. She mentally calculated the chances of her being able to clear most of the large rocks with her damaged   
  
suit. It could be done, but it would require time.  
  
"Link, I think I can move most of the boulders, but you'll have to help."  
  
Link pulled out the Goron bracelet and put it on. Samus was already working on the largest boulder. Link grabbed hold of it, and pulled with all his strength. The boulder was   
  
not moving. They kept pulling and, slowly, the boulder began to move. They only had time to jump out of the way before the boulder rolled over. There was not time to cheer, there was   
  
no telling if Zelda was still alive. They moved away most of the large boulders until there was enough room to enter the castle.  
  
"Alright," said Link "I'll go first, you follow"  
  
Link jumped through the opening into the castle and Samus followed him. They landed in the main hall. The only light came from the hole they had made. Link improvised   
  
some torches with two Deku sticks and they set off in the direction of the throne room, where Zelda would most likely be. As they walked through the deserted halls, Link kept his ears   
  
pricked for any sounds: the palace was as quiet as a tomb. Samus kept her scanners on, searching for any life forms. The inner structure of the castle seemed to be intact, but Link   
  
didn't want to push his luck. They reached the throne room. Here, the windows were shattered and glass was strewn all over the room. There was nobody. Suddenly, Samus' scanner   
  
showed a life form nearby. They searched until they discovered a servant, buried under a pile of rubble. His breathing was irregular and his pulse was fibrillating. Link withdrew a red   
  
potion and forced some through the teeth. colour started to creep back into the man's face. His eyes opened and he sat up.  
  
"What happened?" he asked "I was coming into the room when I felt something hit me, and I blacked out.   
  
"Where's Zelda?" asked Link.  
  
"The Princess? She went to her room. I crossed her in the hall on my way to the throne room."  
  
"Look, stay here, we'll come and get you." said Samus.  
  
The man looked at this figure, clad in metal and he obediently nodded. Samus and Link took off towards the stairs leading to the second story of the castle. Here, the debris   
  
were more numerous. They had to crawl under and climb over the obstacles. They found many bodies, but all were dead. Samus cursed herself for causing the loss of so many lives.   
  
"Samus, it was better that you crash your ship in the castle than in the in village. The death toll would have been much higher." Link said to comfort her.  
  
Samus nodded, but she still felt a pang of guilt when they uncovered the body of yet another dead servant. They finally reached the door to Zelda's room. Samus checked her   
  
scanners, but she could get no reading from inside the room. There was no trace of BTU's (body thermal units) from inside the room. Even if there was a dead person inside, there   
  
would have been a signal. Link opened the door and they entered the room.  
  
Zelda was lying on the floor, a huge rock suspended over her. She was staring, wide eyed at the rock, and Link understood that she was using her magic to keep it from   
  
falling onto her. He quickly explained the situation to Samus.  
  
"So that's why there was no signal." said Samus "Her magic aura must have blocked my scanners."  
  
"What do we do?" asked Link "We can't break her concentration. If we do, that rock will come crashing down on her. It is probably taking her an enormous mental effort to   
  
keep it up."  
  
"Could we run up and grab the rock so she could get out?" suggested Samus.  
  
"No. I couldn't hold up the rock, even with my Goron bracelet.  
  
"According to my calculations, my suit couldn't support that weight."  
  
"Wait," said Link.  
  
He slipped the Goron bracelet off his arm and placed it on Samus'. Samus felt an incredible power surge through her body. Coupled with the Goron bracelet, her suit was now   
  
twice as powerful. But it was still not enough to support the rock. Link had thought of this. he slipped on the Goron mask and he felt his bones stretching and reforming to transform   
  
him into his Goron form. Link hated transforming. It was always strange to have his body rearranged in weird ways. It was not painful, but he automatically expected it to be painful,   
  
which in itself was very painful. He actually preferred transforming into the baby deku scrub since when he transformed, it didn't feel like his bones would snap from being stretched.   
  
Samus watched his transformation, amazed. When the metamorphosis was complete, Link explained his plan to the still amazed Samus.  
  
"I now have the strength of a Goron. You have the Goron bracelet, which increases your strength. With the two of us, we should be able to grab the rock and hold it long   
  
enough for Zelda to get out from underneath."  
  
Samus nodded in assent. They positioned themselves on either side of the bed and together, they rushed forward and grabbed the rock. Zelda looked confused. She   
  
hesitated.  
  
"Zelda! Get out!" grunted Link as he struggled with the weight of the rock.   
  
Zelda rolled out from under the rock and Samus and Link let the rock drop. It hit the floor with a thundering crash. The vibrations shook the already weakened foundations of   
  
the castle. The walls started to crumble and the castle began to collapse.  
  
"Quick Zelda," said Link "We have to get out of here!"  
  
"No time!" said Samus as a large section of wall fell between the and the door.  
  
They were trapped in the room with the castle crumbling around them.  
  
To be continued...  
  
Author's note: Thanks to Sonic1015 who is helping me with this story. Read his fic! 


	3. Zelda

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Nintendo.  
  
In this story, Zelda didn't send Link back in time at the end of OOT and he went to Termina as an adult.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
ZELDA  
  
"Quick Zelda," said Link "We have to get out of here!"  
  
"No time!" said Samus as a large section of wall fell between them and the door.  
  
They were trapped in the room with the castle crumbling around them.  
  
"Boy, talk about déja-vu." moaned Link.  
  
Escaping from crumbling structures was something Link ran into fairly often. His most memorable one was after his defeat of Ganondorf. The Gerudo king, knowing he was   
  
defeated, had used his last strength to collapse the castle. Link and Zelda had gotten out just in time. Link still remembered the fanatic race through the castle, half dragging Zelda who   
  
was weakened by her captivity. Once the castle was down, Ganondorf had come back as the demon Ganon for another swipe at Link.  
  
For Samus, this was also routine. For some reason, almost every area she had been in had a self-destruct mechanism, and for some reason, this almost always got activated.   
  
Samus was used to diving out of a tunnel with an explosion hot on her tail. She remembered her battle with Ridley over the Metroid hatchling. After Ridley got away with the Metroid, he   
  
had activated the Academy's self-destruct sequence. Samus had barely made it back to her ship before the Academy blew up.  
  
  
  
"Quick, to the window!" yelled Zelda. She seemed to have recovered her wits.  
  
Samus fired a shot at the window, breaking it open. Link grabbed his longshot and aimed for the castle gate. He knew that the longshot would make it, pulling him a safe   
  
distance from the castle.   
  
"Samus! Grab on to me!" he called.  
  
"Don't worry!" Samus shouted back "My suit can survive the impact with the ground from this height.  
  
Link watched, amazed, as Samus curled into ball morph and rolled out the window. He saw the ball land and roll away. He had to get moving, the ceiling was almost gone. He   
  
grabbed Zelda by the waist and held her tight. He aimed the longshot carefully, gave a quick prayer, and then pulled the trigger. The chain seemed to take forever to reach its mark, but it finally did. Link felt like his arm was being torn off as he and Zelda were pulled out of the castle. They crashed into the gate and fell to the ground. Link got up and saw the castle   
  
collapsing.  
  
"Just made it!" he exclaimed.  
  
Zelda was used to being rescued by Link. By now it was, at best, a slight thrill. The only bonus was that she got to get really close to Link. Zelda loved Link, but she couldn't   
  
bring herself to tell him. He was the Hero of Time and she was the Princess of Destiny, she felt that it was wrong for her to feel affection for Link. But she couldn't deny her feelings; her   
  
heart did not lie, she loved Link with all her soul. After the defeat of Ganon, she had wanted to send him back in time, seven years before. She though it would be best for him. Link had   
  
been horrified. He did not want to go back to being a child. He did not want to have saved Hyrule and not even remember it. Zelda hoped with all her heart that Link had also not wanted to go back so as not to forget her. In the end, Link had remained an adult. Zelda remembered the day he had left for Termina. She had been shocked when he told her he was leaving   
  
Hyrule. He had not told her why he was leaving, only that he was searching for someone. Zelda had prayed while he was gone for his safe return. When Link did come back, she felt as   
  
though she would explode with joy. But this Link was a new Link. She had heard of his battle with the evil god Majora and how Link had used a mask that had possessed him to defeat it. The power of the mask had almost proved too much for Link and he was saved by a fairy that gave her life for him. When she had heard of Link's return, she had wanted to profess   
  
her love to him, but after hearing of Link's tale, she had felt this would be a bad time to tell him how she felt. She knew she had to tell him but she kept making up excuses to put it   
  
off. Her thoughts were interrupted by Samus crashing down beside her.  
  
"Well," she said, "Now that we're safe, could someone explain where I am?"  
  
"Not here.", said Link "We need somewhere safe to talk."  
  
Link whipped out his Ocarina and played the Minuet of the Forest to warp them all to the Sacred Meadow.  
  
Samus watched, amazed, as the location she was in began to dissolve in a flash of green light. When the light cleared, they were in the middle of a forest.  
  
"How did you do that?" she asked Link.  
  
"Magic." he replied "This is the Ocarina of Time. It possesses mystical powers which are unleashed though music."  
  
They sat down and Zelda began telling Samus about Hyrule.  
  
"The land of Hyrule was created long ago by three Goddesses: Din, Nayru, and Farore. When they had finished, they returned to the heavens. At their point of departure, they   
  
left the sacred Triforce, which contains the essence of the Gods. The Triforce holds a power so great that it was sealed in the Temple of Time to prevent its misuse. Seven years ago, a   
  
man from the desert, of the race who calls themselves Gerudos, attempted to take the Triforce to use it for his evil plans. The Triforce looks like three triangles assembled into one   
  
larger triangle," she pointed to the Triforce on Link's shield, "each piece represents one of the Goddesses: The Triforce of Power for Din, The Triforce of Courage for Nayru, and the   
  
Triforce of Wisdom for Farore. The gate leading to the Triforce can only be opened one way: The three Spiritual Stones given to the three races that live in Hyrule along with the Hylians;   
  
the Zora, the Kokiri, and the Gorons; must be placed into the altar in the Temple of Time and the Song of Time must be played on the Ocarina of Time."  
  
"I am a Hylian," said Link "But when I was still a baby, my village was attacked and my mother, mortally wounded, fled to the forest with me. She offered me to the Great Deku   
  
Tree so that I may be under His protection. I grew up with the rest of the Kokiri thinking I was one of them, but for one fact: I had no fairy. Every Kokiri has a fairy partner. At some   
  
point in their life, a fairy comes to them. I was "the boy without a fairy" until the day that Navi came."  
  
"That's me!" squeaked the ball of light that was fluttering around Link's head.  
  
"A fairy?" asked Samus "May I...?"  
  
Link nodded and Samus plucked Navi from his shoulder and brought her close to her visor. She saw a small female figure, dressed in leaves with large wings growing from   
  
her back. Samus had the sense of a strong power emanating from this frail being. She knew that creature possessed powers that she knew nothing of. Samus released Navi and Link   
  
continued his tale.  
  
"The day Navi came to me, my life changed. I was summoned by the Great Deku Tree to lift a curse placed on him by Ganondorf. I was successful but the Great Deku Tree was   
  
doomed before I had started. He died after I defeated the monster inside him. I left Kokiri Woods and I traveled to Hyrule Castle where I met Zelda. She told me about Ganondorf and the   
  
Spiritual Stones. We planned to get the Triforce before Ganondorf could. The Great Deku Tree had given me the Kokiri Emerald before dieing, I only had two more to collect. But   
  
meanwhile, Ganondorf had found out about our little game and as I returned with the three stones, he tried to kidnap Zelda. She escaped with her nanny, Impa, and left me the   
  
Ocarina of Time. I opened the door in the Temple of Time and I found the Master Sword."   
  
  
  
Link drew the sacred blade and showed it to Samus. "Only the Hero of Time can wield this sword which is the bane of evil. When I drew the sword, however, I fell into a deep   
  
sleep and Ganondorf, who had followed me, was able to open the door to the Sacred Realm where the Triforce lay. Now, here's the strange part, the Triforce split into its three pieces   
  
and entered three bodies: Zelda's, Ganondorf's, and mine. Ganondorf got the Triforce of Power, the Triforce of Wisdom came to Zelda, and the Triforce of Courage came to me. I slept   
  
for seven years during which Ganondorf seized Hyrule and laid it to waste. When I awoke, I was in the sacred realm. I met a man named Raru who taught me that the only way to stop   
  
Ganondorf was to awaken the seven sages who watched over Hyrule. To do this, I had to find a pendant in five other temples. Raru was the first sage and he gave me the pendant of   
  
light. So I set out to collect the other pendants and awaken the other sages. When I left the Temple of Light, I met a mysterious person who called itself Sheik. It said it was a   
  
descendant of the Sheikah people. It taught me the warp sons that I play on my ocarina. I left to gather the pendants. The strange thing was that each sage I awakened was someone I   
  
already knew: My friend Saria was the Sage of the Forest, Daruina, the Goron king was the Sage of Fire, the Zora princess, Ruto was the Sage of Water, Nabooru, a Gerudo who refused to   
  
pledge allegiance to Ganondorf, was the Sage of Shadow, and Impa, Zelda's nanny, was the Sage of Spirits. When I had collected all the pendants, I returned to the Temple of Time to   
  
find out that Sheik was Zelda in disguise! She told me that she was the last sage and she gave me the Light Arrows that would pierce Ganondorf's evil heart and end his reign.   
  
Unfortunately, Ganondorf captured Zelda and I had to get to the top of his castle to save her. I defeated Ganondorf, but he used his last ounce of strength to collapse the castle. I   
  
escaped with Zelda but when we got out, Ganondorf rose from the ruins as the demon Gannon. I defeated him and the Sages sealed him into the Evil Realm."  
  
  
  
Link stopped to let Samus assimilate all this information.  
  
"As far as the Sages know, ", said Zelda, "the seal of the Evil realm is still strong, but there will be a day when Ganondorf will break the seal and escape the Realm. With the   
  
Triforce of Power he could re-take Hyrule."  
  
"This is why I have sworn to protect Hyrule from all threats..." Link was interrupted by Zelda clutching her head and yelling in pain.  
  
"Zelda! What is it?" Link asked, frightened.  
  
"He grows strong. He is trying to break out." Zelda grunted, still holding her head. A look of concentration fleeted across her face and she calmed down.  
  
"Ganondorf tried to break the seal and escape from the Dark Realm. This has happened before, but it is happening more often now. I fear he will soon succeed." Zelda told Link.  
  
"We must be ready, then. We'll have to unite the sages once more." said Link "Samus, I do not wish to expose you to peril, so if you cam, you should leave, now."  
  
"If there's going to be a war council, I want a part in it." said Samus.  
  
"Samus, you do not know what Ganondorf is capable of." pleaded Zelda.  
  
"Look," said Samus "I am the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Do you think I am afraid? Do you know how often I've been on the brink of death? You think you can tell me to leave? No. If I say that I stay, I stay."  
  
Link placed his hands on Samus' shoulders.  
  
"It would be an honor to have you among us in our fight, Samus Aran." he said.  
  
"Good, glad that's settled!" said Saria, falling down from a nearby tree.  
  
"Saria!" said Link, "What have I told you about evesdropping on me?" But there was an amused glint in his eye.  
  
"Come on!" said Saria, "Let's go get the sages!"  
  
To be continued...  
  
Author's note: I know this chapter is kind of redundant for hard-core Zelda fans, but it fits into the plot of the story. 


	4. Ganondorf

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Nintendo.  
In this story, Zelda didn't send Link back in time at the end of OOT and he went to Termina as an adult.  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
GANONDORF  
  

    
    
    Ganondorf Dragmire was in a void.
    He was cursed in the Dark Realm, unable to do anything but wait. He could move around, but eventually, he met an invisible wall in the dark. It was a strange place: Everything was black,  
    yet he could see clearly. It was as if he was in a black room and he was glowing.
    _How long have I been here?_, he thought as he paced his invisible prison, _How long since that brat, Link and those cursed sages banished be here?_
    
    He did not know. He was in a prison that he could not see or feel, his madness growing, growing. He lashed out at his face, nails carving deep gouges, blood spilling out. Pain. At
      
    last, relief from his fear that he was not alive, but anger at his hopes that maybe this was all a dream. Yes. He would wake and find himself still at the head of his massive armies,  
    terrorizing those who dared oppose him, Ganondorf the King of Evil! He would find Link, Zelda and the Sages, find them before they could be awakened. He would slaughter
    them, their families, and those who lived around them. Then, once they were all dead, he could rest, knowing his victory was complete. Yes, this was all a dream, he would wake up and
    he would no longer be in this hellhole.
    Angrily, he marched up to a wall, the seals that held him prisoner. How he wanted to crush them, obliterate them, to free him self from this black hole. If he could only escape,
    with the Triforce of Power, he could soon regain his lost power, make allies with more monstrous creatures, and re-take Hyrule. For what seemed like an eternity, he had tried. He had
    hit, clawed, kicked, and cursed those seals. The magic of the Sages was strong. He had not succeeded. Even as he failed in his attempts, he noticed a change in his prison.  
    It seemed to get bigger with each repeated assault.
    The wall in front of him was the key to escape. He tried summoning his dark magic to destroy the very fabric of time where he stood. He uttered words in
    the harsh tongue of the Gerudos. He whispered secret phrases, long forgotten by many, but with the power to move mountains, manipulate time, and raise the dead. He shouted curses
    that scorched the ears in their brutality. In vain. His magic was greatly reduced by the influence the realm had had on him since he was trapped in it. Most of the spells were absorbed
    by the wall, some bounced back and hit him, never killing him, but leaving his bruised body behind.
    _Let me die..._, he pleaded, _Let me die and let this end..._
    Then, as he collapsed, he remembered...
    _Ganondorf strode up to the king of Hyrule. He bowed and said "My liege, the Gerudo tribes pledge allegiance to Hyrule. We are ready to abandon our lives of thieves and
    become a part of this country."
    As the king acknowledged him with a smile, Ganondorf thought: _Fool! As soon as I have the Triforce, I will run this castle over with my minions. You, I will personally kill._
    A slight movement by the window caught his eye. He turned. A small boy, dresses in green was spying though the glass! Ganondorf quickly dismissed
    him. _Probably a servant's boy or a peasant's_ he thought. How ironic that that day, he had Link in his grip. He could have killed him that day and none of this would have happened!  
    For the moment, the Gerudo was only worried about the stone that the forest tree had refused to give him. He had not been able to take it by force, so he left a curse to eat the tree.  
    When the tree would be dead, he would return to take the stone. But something had gone wrong. He had returned to find the tree dead, but no stone was to be found.  
    Someone had double-crossed him and gotten the stone first! Could this boy dressed in green?...No, it was impossible. To defeat his curse, it would have taken a full-grown warrior, not some child!  
    _
    Ganondorf snapped back to reality.
    He was lying on his back, head throbbing from his failed attempts to destroy the walls of his cell. As he got up, he noticed that his surroundings were now different: Where
    before, there had been blackness, he could now make out a very dark shade of grey. Ganondorf held his breath. This was it! He was beginning to have an influence on the Sages' seal!
    It was a small one, but it was a start.
    _Sure, _he thought sarcastically, _I've been here forever and I make a tiny dent in their stupid seal. It'll take forever from the inside. I'd need something to break the seal  
    from the outside._
    Of course, the chances of this happening were so remote, he did not even want to estimate them. Whatever broke the seal would have to find the seal, know how to break it, get
    past whatever guarding spells had been placed around the seal, and finally, have enough power to break the seal. Then he would be free, assuming the breaking of the seal didn't kill
    him.
    He sat down and, having nothing else to do, let his mind wander on his past memories...
    _A young Ganondorf walked proudly through the Gerudo fortress, radiating with self-confidence. Since he was the only male Gerudo to be born in 100 years, he was practically
    worshipped. He owned these thieves! There was only one shadow: His mother. Even though he was a male, she had produced him, and therefore, was considered to be the chosen one,
    destined to lead the Gerudos until her son was old enough to lead the desert thieves. Ganondorf did not want to wait! He wanted to lead now! He was only in his late teens, but already
    he was beginning to feel a thirst for power.  
    
    As he climbed up a hill, he saw Nabooru, a young Gerudo who he was particularly attracted to. But she wanted nothing with him. To her, he was a spoiled brat who she would
    never see as a leader. She had rejected all his advances, but he still tried, in hopes that she would crack someday.  
    
    The fact that the entire Gerudo race was female, save for one male born every 100 years, posed a problem for their survival. Most of the time, they would kidnap men from the
    surrounding settlements, mate with them, then release them, or keep them prisoner. It was considered an incredible honour to be chosen as mate by a Gerudo male. More often then
    not, though, the male would have a harem of mates, so as to ensure his descendants.  
    
    This was what annoyed Ganondorf about Nabooru. She should consider herself lucky to have caught his eye. All he knew was that when he was in power, whomever he
    picked for mate, he would get, so Nabooru had better get used to the idea!  
    
    "Hey, Nabooru!" he called, Nabooru ignored him. "HEY! NABOORU!" he called again.  
    
    Nabooru looked up, acknowledging she had hear him.  
    
    "What do you want, Ganondorf? Whatever it is, I'm not interested."  
    
    "Sure you are!" said Ganondorf," You know you like me, you're just hiding it because you're shy!"  
    
    "Ganondorf," said Nabooru, pointing a finger at him, "I will never, ever sleep with you."  
    
    "When I'm in command, you'll do as I say, bitch."  
    
    WHAM! Ganondorf was on the ground, his left cheek burning. Nabooru had hit him across the face as hard as she could, knocking him over.  
    
    "Don't," she said, standing over him, "you ever say that again!"  
    
    As the guards rushed over to drag her away, Ganondorf saw the look of triumph on her face.  
    
    "You'll pay for that. Oh yes, you'll pay dearly!" Ganondorf snarled.  
    
    Later, Ganondorf had stood by his mother, Nashjaana, as Nabooru was dragged before the Gerudo queen.  
    
    "Nabooru," said Nashjaana, "Your behaviour today was unacceptable. How dare you lay a hand on my son? What have you to say for your defence?"  
    
    "I beg of you, Nashjaana, I was only giving your son what he deserved." pleaded Nabooru.  
    
    "How so?" asked Nashjaana.  
    
    "Your son suggested that I should immediately begin considering myself his mate." said Nabooru, staring Nashjaana straight in the eye.  
    
    "It is true that he will have his choice of mate when he rules," said Nashjaana, "But, I also believe that Ganondorf is a very pretentious boy who does not know his place! Therefore,
    I believe Nabooru is right when she says that he got what he deserved. Nabooru, you are free to go."  
    
    Nabooru stuttered many thanks and left.  
    
    Nashjaana looked sternly at her son. "Ganondorf, you are a disgrace! When are you going to learn that if you want to lead these thieves, you need to earn their respect! If you keep
    going about like this, when you come to power, they will surely revolt against you! You are dismissed!"  
    
    Ganondorf had returned to his quarters, full of rage, against Nabooru and against his mother.  
    
    No,_ though Ganondorf, _ Not that one. Too painful._  
    
    His relation with Nabooru hadn't improved. In fact, she had avoided him as much as possible. But he had made her pay once his mother died. He recalled that horrid night...  
    
    _Ganondorf was in the training grounds, practicing his swordplay. His opponent, a young, hotheaded Gerudo, was putting all the moves on him. Ganondorf sidestepped her
    thrust and parried her swipe as she spun around. They circled each other, testing their guard. The Gerudo sprung forward, bringing her sword down on Ganondorf's head, he quickly
    knocked her sword aside and hit her on the side of the head with the flat of his sword. The Gerudo stood stunned for a second, and then she drew her second sword. She spun around
    and jumped at Ganondorf. He backed up, letting the Gerudo land where he'd been moments before. As soon as she landed, he disarmed her in two swift strokes, and swung at her
    unprotected neck, stopping the blade, millimetres from her throat.  
    
    "You've lost again, Rishja. Too bad." Ganondorf boasted.  
    
    "I'll win one day." his opponent said, grinning.  
    
    Just then, a Gerudo rushed in. She was panting heavily and seemed very impatient.  
    
    "Lord Ganondorf!" she said, "You mother's raiding party was attacked!"  
    
    "Attacked?" asked Ganondorf, "By who?"  
    
    "The Hylians my Lord. They waited in ambush and attacked them."  
    
    "Is she alive?" asked Ganondorf, though he dreaded the answer.  
    
    "She's dead my Lord. I saw it all from a distance."  
    
    Ganondorf was agape. His mother was dead. He could not believe that a warrior such as her could have been taken down in combat.  
    
    He heard himself saying, "What happened?", but his voice was hollow and strange.  
    
    The Gerudo sat down and began the tale.  
    
    Nashjaana's raiding party left the village, loaded with plunder. The villagers had not resisted much, and now, their huts burned, bright orange on the dark night sky. The
    Gerudos had attacked the village because due to the exceptional drought, the meagre crops they managed to raise had all perished. The villagers had barely managed to gather
    enough for themselves, but nobody argued with a Gerudo, as the chieftain found out the hard way. His body now lay in five different pieces in the middle of the village, his blood
    staining the ground red. The rest of the villagers had fled, so the plunder was very easy.  
    
    It was a four-day walk back to the fortress, and the raiding party was moving quickly, knowing the blazing huts would attract the Hylian soldiers. Nashjaana was pleased: no
    casualties on her side, and enough crops to last for several weeks. After that, a new raid would be organized, or food would be bought with the gold they had stolen.  
    
    As the Gerudos crossed a ridge, a flaming arrow shot into the night sky. Immediately, arrows started hissing past them, a few impaling soldiers on their shafts. The Hylian
    soldiers had been lying in wait, probably summoned from the nearest town. They had come while the Gerudos had plundered the village.
    "It was too simple." said Nashjaana, as more arrows rained around them.  
    
    The Gerudos were in a bad fix. Completely exposed, they had little, or no cover. The full moon shining brightly in the sky gave the Hylian soldiers a perfect sight of the exposed
    thieves.  
    
    "Drop everything and run!" ordered Nashjaana. They were outnumbered, and vulnerable. As the Gerudos turned to run, shafts came whistling in the other direction. they were
    surrounded! They would have to fight.  
    
    "Rush the archers, half with me to the right, the other half to the left!" Nashjaana said.  
    
    Nashjaana knew that the situation was hopeless. Even as they approached the soldiers, the Hylian archers killed more and more Gerudos. As they came within fighting
    distance the archers dropped their bows and picked up their shields and swords. The Gerudo were splendid swordfighters, unequalled in Hyrule, but the Hylians had the advantage of
    numbers. For each soldier that was killed, there would be two more to replace him. At the end, Nashjaana and a half-dozen of her soldiers were trapped in a ring of soldiers.  
    
    "If we die, we die standing, sword drawn!" shouted Nashjaana as she led her soldiers into the Hylian troops. The Gerudos fought with the energy of despair, slashing, blocking,
    thrusting. Finally, they went down, mortally wounded, but proud to have fought bravely.  
    
    "This is what happened, my Lord" the Gerudo finished, "My condolences for your mother's death. She was a true warrior and this is how she wanted to die."  
    
    Ganondorf was not listening. His grief blinded him. He ran out, stumbling. Outside, the Gerudos stepped away from his, respectful of the pain he was feeling. He ran out of the
    fortress and into the haunted wastelands. he ran on and on, not caring for the blinding sandstorm that was raging. He kept repeating to himself _No, she not dead. She can't be.
    She's not dead._  
    
    Night fell and still he ran on. Running from his pain, his grief, and most of all, his anger. Anger at the Hylians. They had killed his mother. The one person who mattered to him
    most in the world. She had always been there for him. Teaching him her fighting skills, survival skills, but most of all, giving him something he needed more then anything else, love.
    She loved him, despite his temper, despite his selfishness. For her, he was not just a male Gerudo, he was her son, her flesh and blood, the only one who she loved more than anything
    else. Her unconditional love for him had always comforted him in hard times. Now, all this was gone. A rage, like a poison, was running through his veins. How he hated the Hylians.
    How he wished he could crush them all, like a foot crushes bugs in the dirt.  
    
    Still he ran on.  
    
    Now he was beginning to feel the burn in his legs, his muscles screaming in pain. Overwhelmed by emotion, he collapsed.  
    
    He woke up several hours later, not knowing where he was. The sandstorm was still howling around him, like an angry beast. He was lost.  
    
    He cursed himself for his foolishness. He could be miles from the fortress now! How was he going to get back? To be lost in a sandstorm is a terrifying experience. You don't
    know where anything is, and you can go around in circles, trying to find a way out as the sand pummels your frail body. You can't backtrack by following your footsteps since the wind
    erased them as soon as they are created  
    
    Ganondorf began to walk ahead of him. For all he knew, maybe the fortress was mere metres away. He'd take a few steps and it would materialize out of the sand, like an
    illusion previously hidden from the eye.  
    
    As he walked, he listened to the wind. The howling voice carried far off sounds to him. He heard the clanking of armour, the gallop of horses, and, Ganondorf's blood ran cold,
    the insane giggle of Poes. He heard their rhythmic swaying as they got closer, their giggling as they vanished, only to reappear a few feet away, and he started to see the light of their
    lanterns, which contain the souls of those who they kill in the night.  
    
    He had no weapons. The Poes could easily outrun him, but he ran anyway. He could hear them getting closer behind him. As he turned to see if they were nearing him, he tripped
    and fell, getting a mouthful of sand. The Poes appeared out of the swirling sand, visions of horror come from the grave. They surrounded Ganondorf, circling closer and closer in their
    macabre killing ritual.  
    
    Poes are pack hunters. The only Poes that hunt alone are big Poes. The Poes chase down a potential prey until it collapses of exhaustion. Then, the Poes circle the prey, going
    in tighter and tighter circles until one of them goes in for the kill. The soul of the victim is extracted and placed in the Poe's lantern. The corpse is left to scavengers. The souls feed
    the Poes with their living energy.  
    
    Ganondorf did not want to die like this. A sort of madness came over him and he leapt up, snatching the lantern from the nearest Poe and smashing it over the Poe's head. The
    damned soul gave a shriek and disappeared, leaving it's spirit behind, a small harmless pink flame, fluttering in the wind. Seeing this, the other Poes turned and fled. They could not
    face such a bold mortal.  
    
    As Ganondorf watched the Poes leaving, he felt something fly past him. He turned; there was nothing. Then, he jumped as a voice whispered at his ear.  
    
    "Well, well. It's not often you see a mortal fight off the Poes." it said.  
    
    Ganondorf looked around. There was nobody.  
    
    "What are you?" he asked.  
    
    "How rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself," it mockingly said, "I am Ganon, the Demon of Evil."  
    
    "The one who tried to steal Hyrule's Triforce? The Lord of Darkness the Gannon?" Ganondorf asked, bewildered.  
    
    "I see you are a connoisseur." Ganon said.  
    
    "But you were banished," Ganondorf said "when the Hero of Time killed you."  
    
    "Did you really think that the Ultimate Evil could be defeated?" Ganon laughed "No, no, my "death" was just a minor setback."  
    
    "What do want from me?" asked Ganondorf.  
    
    "I want you to help me steal the Triforce." Ganon said.  
    
    "I'll do it!" said Ganondorf "Anything to get back at the Hylians. They killed my mother! How do I help?"  
    
    "Grief is a powerful motivator." said Ganon "Being a spirit is such a drag. I have no physical form. I need a body to inhibit."  
    
    "Mine?" asked Ganondorf.  
    
    "Catch on quick, don't we?" said Ganon.  
    
    Ganondorf considered this proposal very carefully. Being a host for Ganon's spirit would be a great asset. Ganondorf had read a lot about the King of Evil and he knew
    that with Ganon's power, he could easily take Hyrule. But Ganondorf had also leant about the terrible curse that Ganon was. A sort of leprosy that ate you from within. He couldn't
    believe that there was no catch to this deal, which remained never the less tempting.  
    
    "What's in it for me?" he asked.  
    
    "I will make you the ultimate warrior. Your strength, your speed, and your cunningness will be unequalled, save by one." Ganon said "There is a new Hero of Time arising. He does
    not know it yet, but one day, the Hero of Time will awaken within him."  
    
    "Then we must act quickly, while the hero is still dormant." said Ganondorf.  
    
    "So, you accept my offer?" asked Ganon.  
    
    "Yes."  
    
    "Very well, the Binding of Bloods begins now!" Ganon roared.  
    
    Ganondorf felt a searing pain in his head. He clutched it, and felt something wet. Blood. There was a huge gash on his forehead and his blood was flowing freely from it. He tried
    to stop the flow of blood whit his hands, but the blood still seeped thick through his fingers. As he watched his blood dripping onto the sand, Ganondorf felt tried. He fell down, his
    breath coming in ragged gasps. His vision clouded over as he closed his eyes.  
    
    The Eye of Din rose, revealing Ganondorf Dragmire lying on the sand, blood seeping from his head. He was not moving.  
    
    Ganondorf woke up. At first he did not know where he was. As he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in his room. There was a pitcher of water and a bowl of food nearby. Being
    ravenously hungry, he began to eat.  
    
    There was a knock at the door and the Gerudo healer, Djaanu, came in.  
    
    "Good to see you awake, Lord Ganondorf." she said.  
    
    "Djaanu," asked Ganondorf "What happened? I was in the wastelands and...I don't remember anything."  
    
    "Din is with you Lord." said the healer "A patrol found you in the wastelands with a large gash on your head. You had lost a lot of blood. They brought you back and I was able to
    nurse you back to health."  
    
    She left and Ganondorf lay back, recalling what had happened. He touched the gash on his forehead and a spasm rocked him. He suddenly had a vision of a young warrior, clad in
    green, advancing on him. He shook his head to clear his mind. He did not know why, but he had a strange feeling of power, surging through him. He did not know what had happened
    in the wastelands, but what he did know, was that he was a new man._  
    
    Yes. That was the time when Ganon had come to him and he had become symbiotic with the Lord of Darkness. Ganon's power was channelled though him. Though powerful,
    Ganondorf had been very careful to learn to master his new powers. He had studied the Dark Arts for many years after this day to learn how to control the force within him.   
    
    As Ganondorf sat in the pit of darkness he had come to accept as his home, he became aware of a powerful surge of energy nearby. He stood up, straining  
    his ears for any sound, any clue as to where this energy might be coming from. Had the sages finally decided to occupy him with a distracting torture? Or was he finally going to be set free?  
    Ganondorf moved around in his prison, trying to sense the source of this disturbance.  
    
    He was now sure that something was happening. He could feel vibration, coursing the floor of his cell. The darkness, which had once been as black as a moonless night,  
    was brightening. The very fabric of time seemed to stretch in a scream of pain as Ganondorf asked himself: "Who weilds a greater power than I?"  
    
    To be continued...  
    
    Author's note: I know, I know, you're all gonna be jumping up and down saying "But Koume and Kotake are Ganondorf's mothers!" Well, I decided that this was weird, so I changed it.  
    Besides, you didn't expect every little detail from the games to be in this fic? That's what fan fiction is about: building on what is present.
    
    


	5. Saria

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They are the property of Nintendo. In this story, Zelda didn't send Link back in time at the end of OOT and he went to Termina as an adult.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SARIA  
  


Saria was worried.

  
She sat on top of her tree house, a large Maneya tree that grew near the entrance to the Lost Woods. The Kokiri had lived in the forest since the beginning of Hyrule. They had long since come to regard trees as life forms. The trees and the Kokiri

formed a symbiotic circle. What affected one soon affected the other. As such, the Kokiri lived in naturally hollow trees, so as to avoid the need of destroying trees to build their homes. The Mayena and Burak trees were among the most popular for homes, their soft insides providing wonderful homes for the children of the woods. Most Kokiris preferred to live at ground level, the feeling of height being too great for most of them to handle. As well, the opening to most trees were near the ground. Yet, some of the bolder ones preferred to search for a tree with a hole above the ground. Kokiris choosing this path were considered slightly eccentric.

  
Saria was a ground dweller, not because she was afraid of height, but because she had fallen in love with her tree the moment she had seen it. She loved her tree's broad green leaves with which she made a dye for her hair, the smooth, grey bark,

speckled with brown spots, and the cool inside where she lived. The inside was plain, with wooden furniture. She had made most of it herself, using the wood from dead trees lashed together with grass twine.  
  


Saria watched her fellow Kokiri, playing in the afternoon sun, the rays of light sneaking through the branches of the overhead trees catching dust particles in the air, creating columns of shimmering light. She giggled as she saw Mido making a fool of himself, as usual, as he tried to impress some Kokiri girls. Near the waterfall, the Know-it-all twins were frolicking in the water.

  
Saria sighed, the Kokiris lived in a dream world; a paradise, cut off from the harshness of the real world. They knew nothing of misery, hunger, or injustice. This innocence had been

shaken after the death of the Great Deku Tree and Ganondorf's attack on Hyrule seven eight years ago.  
  


The seven years of Ganondorf's reign had been a brutal shock to the Kokiri. The peaceful forest-dwellers had been awakened one morning by Moblins attacking their village. A lot of Kokiri had been slaughtered by Ganondorf's troops. Saria and a handful of Kokiri had escaped to the Sacred Meadow, reasoning that the Moblins would never get through the Lost Woods. Unfortunately, when Phantom Ganon took over the Forest temple, the Kokiri had been forced to return to their ruined village. There had been no more attacks and the Kokiri had lived in an uneasy peace for the next few years until Link had returned and awakened Saria as the Sage of the Forest.

  
Saria had always felt closer to the forest than the rest of the Kokiri. For as long as she could remember, she had loved to go into the Sacred Meadow to play her ocarina and listen to the trees. She was very concerned with the fate of the forest and this

was why, of course, the Great Deku Tree had chosen her as his messenger.

  
She took out her ocarina. The magical instrument was made of smooth wood and had several holes that were covered by the fingers to achieve different note and octaves. It was the one she had given Link when he had left the woods. Saria had always

had her ocarina. She did not remember when she had acquired it; it had just always been a part of her.

  
Saria licked her lips and put the instrument to her mouth. She blew a few tentative notes; they soared from the ocarina and filled the clearing. Saria smiled, she still had it. She remembered when she had tried to teach Link how to play the ocarina...

  
_"Come on, Link! You have to try it at least _once_," said Saria. _

_"No, I-I can't," said Link.  
  
_

_Saria groaned. Link was sitting on his bed, tears running down his face. He had just come from a bad run-in with Mido, the bossy Kokiri who's life's ambition was to make Link's life a living nightmare. This was not the first time either._

_Mido took every opportunity he got to ridicule Link, just because the poor Kokiri did not have a guardian fairy. Saria suspected that some of Mido's antagonism towards Link was due to Mido being afraid of becoming like Link, not having a fairy. She hoped that when Link finally did get a guardian fairy, Mido's taunts would cease._

_  
"Look Link," she said, "I know Mido is mean, but you can't let that spoil your whole day. What are you going to do, run away and hide every time he insults you?"_

_  
"That's easy for you to say," Link snapped back, "You're strong and y-you have a fairy." Link burst into tears._

_  
"I'm sorry, Link. I'm sorry," she said as she sat down beside the distraught boy and put her harm around him, "But will you try to play the ocarina Maybe it'll cheer you up! And who knows? Maybe you'll be really good at it. I know _

_Mido _cannot_ play the ocarina, so you could be better than him at something!"_

_  
Link dried his eyes and said, "OK Saria, I'll do it, for you."_

_  
Link took the instrument blew with all his might into it. A horrible screeching sound leapt from the ocarina._

_  
"OK," said Saria, "Maybe we should take this slowly."_

_  
Over the next few days, Saria had practiced with Link, trying to teach him her knowledge of the ocarina. By the end, Link was barely able to play a few correct notes, but that was great, considering how difficult it was for a beginner _

_to play the ocarina._

_  
When Link had left the forest, Saria had given him her ocarina. It had been a terrible loss for her, but she knew that he would need it more than she did. When Link had returned, seven years later, not only did he have his own _

_ocarina, he could play almost as well as she could! He had treasured her ocarina and he brought it back to her, as good as when she last saw it._

_  
_Saria put the ocarina back to her lips and played decisively. The notes emerged loud and clear, ringing through the village. Many of the Kokiri stopped what they were doing and listened, mesmerized, to the beautiful melody of Saria's Song. Many of the

Kokiri knew the tune, having heard Saria play it often, but they still listened, enraptured, to the very soul of the Forest Sage. For when Saria played, she did not just scratch out the notes to her song, she played with all her heart, putting her entire concentration into her ocarina.

  
When the last note had faded, Saria smiled. Her song was her special tie with Link. Whenever she or Link played the song, they could speak to each other, no matter where they were. Sometimes, if Saria focused enough, she could see through Link's eyes, as was happening now. The village was fading away to be replaced by the lush green of the Sacred Meadow.

  
_So, Link's in the Sacred Meadow. Let's go see what he's up to, _thought Saria.

  
She broke the contact and the village came back into focus. She placed the ocarina on her lips and played the Minuet of the Forest. A dazzling shimmer of emerald green enveloped her and after a bright flash of white light, she found herself standing on

the Triforce symbol at the entrance to the Forest Temple.

  
Saria spotted Link, Zelda, and a human-looking figure a little away from her. She stealthily drew up to them and managed to climb a tree next to them without being noticed. As she listened, she realized Link and Zelda were telling the creature about the

fall of Ganondorf.

  
"This is why I have sworn to protect Hyrule from all threats..." Link was interrupted by Zelda clutching her head and yelling in pain.

  
"Zelda! What is it?" Link asked, frightened.

  
"He grows strong. He is trying to break out." Zelda grunted, still holding her head. A look of concentration fleeted across her face and she calmed down. "Ganondorf tried to break the seal and escape from the Dark Realm. This has happened before,

but it is happening more often now. I fear he will soon succeed." Zelda told Link.

  
"We must be ready, then. We'll have to unite the sages once more." said Link "Samus, I do not wish to expose you to peril, so if you can, you should leave now."

  
"If there's going to be a war council, I want a part in it." said Samus.

  
"Samus, you do not know what Ganondorf is capable of." pleaded Zelda.

  
"Look," said Samus "I am the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Do you think I am afraid? Do you know how often I've been on the brink of death? You think you can tell me to leave? No. If I say that I stay, I stay."

  
Link placed his hand on Samus' shoulder. "It would be an honour to have you among us in our fight, Samus Aran." he said.

  
"Good, glad that's settled!" said Saria, falling down from a nearby tree.

  
"Saria!" said Link, "What have I told you about eavesdropping on me?" But there was an amused glint in his eye.

  
"Come on!" said Saria, "Let's go get the sages!" She paused as she looked at Samus. "Who are you?" she asked.

  
"Samus Aran, bounty hunter." Samus replied.

  
"So what do you do?" asked Saria.

  
"Less question and more action." Samus said. "I'll explain on the way kid."

  
"Kid? I'm over 100 years old!" Saria protested.

  
"Oh yes, you're one of the Kokiri Link told me about. You never age, right?"

  
"Well, we mature in mind, but we conserve the body of children."

  
As they left the Scared Meadow, they came in front of a humongous wall. It was easily 9 feet tall and ran from one edge of the clearing to the other, totally blocking the way. Upon closer inspection, it was possible to see that it was actually a giant hedge

covered in millions of spikes.

  
"What's this?" asked Samus.

  
"The Sacred Meadow's first line of defence.", said Saria "A giant maze, impassable for those who are not welcome in the forest. If an enemy of the forest tried to cross, it would become hopelessly lost, never to find the exit or entrance again and would

die of starvation or bee attacked by the woodland creatures within. The hedges are so prickly that it is impossible to scale them and they are protected by the magic of the Forest Temple so they are indestructible."

  
"And you know the way through?" Samus asked.

  
"Of course!" said Saria "It will only take a few minutes."

  
As they entered the maze, Saria warned Samus, "Don't touch the walls. Some of the barbs are poisonous and can pierce even the thickest armour."

  
They walked on, following Saria. Samus was trying to keep track of their progress, but her compass was scrambled. She guessed it was because of the magic. She had no concept of time, and it seemed like they had been walking forever. She could

see how the maze was a great protection. All the walls looked the same and she was positive that they were going around in circles, seeing as how familiar the scenery looked.

  
As they rounded a corner Samus was sure they had already taken before, Saria stopped and motioned the others to be quiet. Straining, they could hear growling ahead.

  
"Wolfos." whispered Saria.

  
"At least three," said Link "Enough for everybody. Think you can handle 'em Samus?"

  
"What is a Wolfo?" asked Samus.

  
"A giant dog-like beast with long arms. They can block the most powerful attacks with their arms so you have to get under their guard." Link said.

  
"Sounds easy." said Samus.

  
"Not at all. They are very fast and very fierce. Once they get hold of you, they never let go."

  
"OK, I'll take one, you take the other, who's taking the third?" asked Samus.

  
"I am." said Zelda.

  
"Like that? I don't think so princess!" scoffed Link.

  
Zelda shot Link an evil glare and Samus watched, astonished, as Zelda's female figure gradually melted into that of a handsome young man dressed in blue clothes with a while cloth breastplate bearing a red eye. Zelda (Samus assumed it was still her)

leapt at Link who made to block, but at the last second, his assailant dropped to the ground and swept out with her leg and tripped him.

  
"Any more comments on my fighting abilities?" she asked, towering over Link.

  
"Not a word." said Link. Noticing Samus was staring, he added, "This is Sheik, Zelda's alter-ego."

  
"Let's go kick some Wolfo butt." said Sheik.

  
They all cautiously peeked around the next corner and, sure enough, there were three Wolfos growling at each other.

  
Samus leapt out and fired a mega-missile at the Wolfos, but to her great surprise, one of them batted the missile right back at her. She just had time to duck and yell, "Take cover!" before the missile flew over her and exploded on the wall behind her,

leaving no trace. As she looked up, one of the Wolfos jumped on her, pinning her to the ground. Samus hit it hard with her cannon, knocking him off her.

  
Sheik leapt over Samus and kicked the Wolfo in the chest. She pulled out a whip-like chain and began circling the Wolfo, lashing out at it.

  
Link was facing off with the second Wolfo who lashed out with his paw, but Link sidestepped the blow and hit the Wolfo over the head with the butt of his sword's hilt. He leapt in the air and brought his sword down on the dazed Wolfo. The Wolfo

gave a scream of pain and his body immediately was consumed by blue-white fire.

  
Samus rolled between the legs of the third Wolfo and hit him with her screw attack. The Wolfo was thrown up into the air. She jumped after it to finish it off, but the Wolfo, having recovered from the screw attack, twisted his body so Samus missed him.

Her momentum overtook her and she saw the wall of spikes coming closer. Time slowed to a crawl as Samus twisted around and fired her grapple beam at the opposite wall. It seemed to take an eternity to extend and before it could make contact, she hit the wall, screaming in pain as she felt millions of needles piercing her back. As she fell to the ground, she could tell she was badly hurt. She tried to stand but the pain was too great and she collapsed.

  
When Link saw Samus hit the wall, he knew it wasn't going to be pretty. When Samus fell, he saw a big splash of blood where Samus had hit the wall. He also saw that the back of the suit was all torn up.

  
"Saria!" he yelled, "Give him this!" He tossed Saria a blue potion, hoping it would work on Samus.

  
Sheik meanwhile, was juggling her Wolfo. She high-kicked it, send it up, then jumped and kicked upwards. The Wolfo was sent even higher and Sheik fired a dozen needles at it. When the Wolfo hit the ground, it was dead.

  
Saria ran up to Samus and tried to remove the helmet to administer the potion. She was panicky since she could feel Samus' life draining. When Saria removed the helmet, she was shocked as Samus' brown hair tumbled out of the helmet, her face paling

from copious loss of blood. Saria was stunned for a few seconds until she realized that Samus was a woman. Saria forced Samus' lips apart and managed to pour some of the potion down her throat. Immediately, she saw the wounds in Samus' back healing and felt life come back to Samus' body.

  
Link back flipped away from the Wolfo who was charging him. As he back flipped, he knocked an arrow to his bow and leapt into the air. Bouncing off the Wolfo's back, he turned around in midair and released his arrow. The arrow buried itself into

the Wolfo's back, killing it instantly.

  
_Samus felt as though she was floating. She felt no pain, only a sense of deep tranquillity. _If this is death, _she thought, _It's not so bad._ But no, she wasn't dead. She felt a cool breeze on her face and someone was calling her name._

Samus...Samus...  
  


"Samus, are you alright?" asked Saria as Samus regained consciousness.

  
"How is he?" asked Link as he came up from behind Saria. Link looked at Samus and did a double take. He had imagines Samus as a battle-hardened warrior like himself, but Samus was...a woman?

  
Samus noticed Link was agape. "What?" she asked. "Is it because I am a woman?"

  
"N...no," stammered Link "I just..."

  
"Expected me to be male." snapped Samus "Well, it's alright, I'm used to it. Before the Metroids, everyone thought I was a man also. Now, pretty much whoever knows my name knows who I really am."

  
"Well, I suspected you were female Samus," said Zelda who had turned back into herself, "I mean, you move much too gracefully to be a man."

  
"Hey! Are you insinuating that I'm clumsy?" asked Link.

  
"Whoa!" said Saria "Cool it will you? There are more important things to do. Those Wolfos mean evil is stirring in Hyrule. We need to get the Sages together."

  
Suddenly, Saria and Zelda fell to the ground, screaming in pain.

  
"Zelda!" yelled Link "What's wrong?"

  
"He's escaping! He's escaping!" yelled Zelda over and over, writhing in pain.

  
"Ganondorf!" said Link. He pulled out his Ocarina and played the Prelude of Light. A white flash enveloped them and they found themselves in a large white room.

  
There was a large altar at one end of the room with three indentations in it, as if something fit in it. Samus noticed the Triforce symbol at the top of a recess in the wall behind the altar. She guessed this was a door. The Triforce was also on a giant stone

slab they had landed on. 

_Wow, _thought Samus _They weren't kidding about this Triforce being important._

  
"Samus!" Link said "Watch Zelda and Saria. I have to go get the Spiritual Stones!"

  
"Why?" asked Samus.

  
"If Ganondorf is really back, I need the Master Sword!" explained Link.

  
"But isn't that it?" said Samus, pointing at the sword in Link's scabbard.

  
"No." said Link "The Master Sword is only to be used in times of evil. This is a replica. It is a good sword, but it cannot replace the true Master Sword. I need the stones to access the chamber behind the door that houses the Master Sword."

  
Link pulled out his ocarina and played the Bolero of Fire. Bright red flames engulfed Link and with a red flash, he was gone, leaving Samus alone with Saria and Zelda in the Temple of Time.

  
To be continued...

  
Author's note: First fight scene! How do you rate it?  
1-What fight scene?  
2-Booooring!  
3-OK  
4-Pretty good  
5-Excellent! 


End file.
